Samburu men attempt to fend-off a swarm of desert locusts flying over a grazing land in Kenya, 2020 (photo credit: NJERI MWANGI/REUTERS)

Nations from east Africa to India are facing large swarms of desert locusts and could face an even worse second wave after an exceptional rainy season created favorable conditions for locusts to breed.

Earlier this year, a wave of locusts swept East Africa and parts of the Arabian Peninsula and has since spread to Iran, Iraq Pakistan and India. While the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) reported that about 720,000 tons of cereal had been saved from the swarms in 10 countries, the threat still isn’t over.

“Our gains have been significant; but the battle is long and is not yet over”, said FAO chief Qu Dongyu on Monday. “More people are at risk of losing their livelihoods and worsening food security in the coming months.”

A map by the FAO shows that swarms are expected to spread into West Africa and throughout the Arabian Peninsula in the coming months, with new locust swarms expected to form in June.

While no swarms are currently expected to impact Israel, Jordan is considered “threatened,” according to a forecast map by the FAO. In February, Jordan’s Ministry of Agriculture announced an “utmost state of emergency” as swarms descended on Saudi Arabia via Yemen. The Ministry also announced that it was closely monitoring regular reports issued by the Locust Forecast Center, situated within the Food and Agriculture Organization. Syria, which also borders Israel, was reportedly preparing for an outbreak as well.

Former Agriculture Minister Tzachi Hanegbi warned at the time that while there was only a low chance that the locusts will come to Israel, the forecast could change and preparations should be made in advance, according to Channel 12 news. An infestation in 2013 caused hundreds of thousands of shekels in damage to Israel’s agriculture industry.

Iran may use its military for a second year to help fight locusts which have invaded the south of the country, an Agricultural Ministry official was quoted as saying on Friday, as the swarms threaten to destroy crops worth more than $7 billion. Up to 1 million hectares of land throughout the country may soon be affected by the swarms.

The infestation originated on the Arabian Peninsula in Yemen, with Saudi Arabia being impacted by the swarms as well. In June, Yemen saw an outbreak of desert locusts for the first time in three years. Yemenis took advantage of the infestation as an alternative food source.

A one sq. km. swarm of locusts can eat the same amount of food in one day as 35,000 people, according to the FAO. UN Food & Agriculture Organization locust forecasting expert Keith Cressman explained that a locust swarm that enters a field in the morning can eat the entire field by midday. The insects can travel up to 93 miles a day.

One swarm in Kenya was three times the size of New York City, according to CNN. The number of locusts could grow 400 times by June if not treated. While desert locusts are usually only found in about 30 countries in Africa, the Near East and southwest Asia, they can spread into up to 60 countries over 29 million square kilometres (about 11.1 million square miles) during plagues, according to ReliefWeb.

All of this comes as the coronavirus pandemic continues to impact the world’s economy and food availability for many people.

World Food Program executive director David Beasley warned in April that the world is facing a “hunger pandemic” due to the locust swarms, regional conflict and the coronavirus pandemic, among other reasons. 821 million people go to bed hungry every night and another 135 million face crisis levels of hunger or worse, according to Beasley. The WFP found that the coronavirus pandemic has added an additional 130 million people who could be “pushed to the brink of starvation” by the end of this year.

Beasley added that, while there are no famines currently occurring, nations needed to prepare in order to prevent “multiple famines of biblical proportions within a short few months.”

In related news in Lebanon, residents “bugged out” over the weekend as swarms of beetles coated the country. “There’s a wave of insects in Lebanon rn [right now] and literally insects are flying everywhere we closed all the windows and they’re all glued to the windows,” wrote one Lebanon-based Twitter user, as others referred to the swarms as “apocalyptic.” They come as a series of misfortunes have racked the country, including wildfires, economic issues, food insecurity and the coronavirus, according to Al-Araby Al-Jadeed.

The bugs swarming Lebanon were identified by the Lebanese agricultural Research Institute as the Common Sun Beetle, Black Dung Beetle and Spinola Bug. The beetles are harmless, the Director of the Agricultural Scientific Research Department, Michel Frenn, told the Lebanese MTV news.

Assurances of the harmlessness of the insects didn’t calm many residents. “The only thing Lebanon was missing were swarms of insects. Just make the world end already,” wrote one social media user, according to Al-Araby.

Over 200,000 people have been displaced by recent flooding in Somalia, according to the United Nations, with more rain expected in the Juba and Shabelle river basins.

In a report of 11 May, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said 16 people have died, 546,103 affected and 216,895 displaced since the Gu’ rains started in early April.

OCHA said; “At least 27 districts are inundated; the worst being Belet Weyne in Hiran Region where riverine flooding has displaced more than 115,000 people, according to the district flood taskforce. This includes about 91,000 people who have been displaced from the four sections of the town and 23,220 people from 23 riverine villages. The flooding resulted from a sharp rise in the level of the Shabelle river following heavy rains in Somalia and the Ethiopian highlands. According to the taskforce, more people were fleeing their homes as river levels rise.”

In Jowhar district, further down river Shabelle in Lower Shabelle region, more than 17,300 people were affected by floods after a river embankment broke. OCHA said an estimated 50,000 people people have been affected by floods in Lower Shabelle region and some 83,000 people in Bay region.

Eight people died in flash floods in Qardho town in Puntland on 27 April. Over 22,000 were displaced and a total of 48,000 affected.

In Galmudug Region, flooding on 02 May displaced around 12,000 in Hobyo district. Two people died and 25 were injured.

Flooding from the Dawa river has damaged hundreds of farms in Gedo Region.

Emergency authorities in Rwanda report that at least 65 people have died in floods and landslides in Rwanda after torrential rain over the last few days.

Meteo Rwanda said the Byimana weather station in Ruhango District recorded 140 mm of rainfall in 24 hours to 07 May. At least 7 other weather stations recorded more than 50mm of rainfall during the same period.

Last week the agency warned of heavy rain in Northern Province and Rubavu, Nyabihu, Rutsiro, Ngororero, Muhanga and Ruhango districts. Further heavy rain is expected over the next 3 days.

Rwanda’s Ministry of Emergency Situations (MINEMA) said that heavy rainfall from 06 to 07 May caused at least 65 fatalities in Northern, Western and Southern Provinces. Later media reports said the figure was above 70.

UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reports that almost 150,000 people have been affected by flooding and heavy rain in Yemen since mid-April.

Flooding has damaged roads, bridges and the electricity grid, and contaminated water supplies, cutting access to basic services for thousands of people. In Aden, power cuts have continued since the floods of 21 April.

OCHA said an estimated 21,240 families (148,680 people) have been affected by flooding in 13 governorates since mid-April, including 6,286 families in Marib Governorate, 9,146 families in Sana’a and northern governorates, and 5,130 families in Hajjah Governorate.

Conditions are hardest for thousands of families already displaced who have lost shelter, food rations and household supplies. An estimated 4,764 households have been affected in Internally displaced people (IDPs) sites in southern governorates, including 1,812 families in Aden, 1,037 in Abyan, 917 in Taizz and 770 in Lahj governorates.

OCHA said there is heightened risk of diseases such as malaria and cholera. Already, more than 110,000 cases of suspected cholera have been recorded across 290 of Yemen’s 333 districts since January this year, with growing fears that the number of cases will spiral.

More heavy rains and thunderstorms are expected in the east and parts of the western coast, as well as in desert areas in Marib, Al Jawf, and Shabwah governorates.

The UN says thousands of people are forced to sleep outside and are without clean drinking water after ongoing floods damaged homes and water points in the Republic of Congo (Congo Brazzaville).

According to a recent report from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN OCHA), flooding that began in OCtober this year has now affected 8 of the 12 departments in the Republic of Congo (Congo Brazzaville).

At least 170,000 people have now been affected by floods in Likouala, Cuvette and Plateaux departments alone. The government declared a state of natural disaster and humanitarian emergency in the 3 departments on 19 November 2019.

Flooding was caused by the overflow of the Oubangui and Congo rivers. Hundreds of villages along the river have been affected, many of which are completely submerged. Flooding has damaged infrastructure and impeded access to food, water, education and health care. Homes, schools and health centres in affected areas are flooded and only accessible by boat.

UN OCHA said “most water points and sanitation facilities are no longer functioning. Affected communities do not have access to safe drinking water, and hygiene and sanitation products are scarce, exacerbating the risks of contamination and epidemics caused by water and mosquitoes (typhoid, cholera, malaria).

“Significant crop and livestock losses have also been reported. Half of the crop areas are flooded, and unharvested production destroyed, including cassava fields, a staple food. The next harvest will not take place until the last quarter of 2020. Losses are also significant in the breeding and fishing sectors. Food reserves are already quickly running out.”

The UN recently reported that flooding in neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo has affected around 600,000 people. Along Congo Brazzaville’s northern border, parts of Central African Republic have also been affected during the same period.